WATCH THEIR LANGUAGE

It's essential to keep a critical eye open when it comes to the media (including here). The news report is not always the message. Sometimes you can learn more about the world by observing how a news story is told and pondering why it's being reported and who told it to the media. Why is a certain story on the front page? What else is happening that we're not being told about?

In the last CEC newsletter we talked about newspaper opinion pieces appearing by members of right wing think-tanks. Then there are the news 'reports' submitted by public relations firms for corporations. You will have noticed them - things like 'a recent study has found that greasy hamburgers wrapped in polystyrene can actually benefit human health while creating long-term ecological benefits.'

You will also have noticed the use of language which reinforces a political viewpoint. The media refers to the Iraqi people who are fighting the invasion force as 'insurgents'. An insurgent is a person who rises in revolt against a government. Iraq has no government. It's an invaded country. These people are resistance fighters.

The story of the torture of Iraqi prisoners took a long time to become a front-page feature, particularly in terms of Australia's responsibility. The media was happier to devote pages to the Government's stupendously and malodorously callous budget (oops, there's another thing to watch for - emotional language).

The media is often used to generate public hostility, on an emotional level, towards an official enemy. In George Orwell's 1984, the compulsory Two Minutes Hate sessions were directed at Emmanuel Goldstein, Enemy of the People. Participants would gather to explode together in a frenzy of anger. In 2004, it seems that 'Islamic terrorists' are the enemy both in this country and abroad. If a Muslim person commits a crime, the media can't help mentioning their religion. If something bad happens in the world, there'll be a Islamic extremist to blame. Anyone from the Middle East is a suspect. If we believe this we'll be fearful enough to accept harsh new laws which under normal conditions we would consider totalitarian, like the anti-terrorist laws. An Enemy of the People can be a handy device for a government looking for a way out of democratic restraints. And the media is complicit.

It's frightening that most people in the western world get their knowledge about the world from the nightly news - a bit of national sensation, a two minute bite on an international sensation, the financial markets, sport and the weather forecast. It's just as frightening to think they're also relying on talkback radio. The key is to try and use a wide range of information sources - a mix of books, independent journals, the internet, film and radio - to try and put together a vague idea about what is really going on in this strange world.